Bottle It Up
Ever find yourself feeling like you're on top of the world for now specific reason? That swagger that makes you think you could run through brick walls that doesn't have a direct correlation to a recent success or positive event?
That is how I was feeling earlier this week. I was on top of the world and couldn't explain why. I hadn't just closed a deal or had an amazing interaction with a friend. Nothing out of the ordinary was going on, I just felt invincible.
So I started to peel it back and dissect that moment. Where was I as I realized this was happening? Who was around or who had most recently been around? When did it start and when would it stop? What words was I using to describe this to myself? How could I capture this feeling and bottle it up? How could I make it happen again on demand?
After thinking through it and free flow questioning along the lines of those above, I realized that I had been doing something that I hadn't done in a really long time. I had been choosing me. I had been turning my loyalty from things outside myself or surrounding me to actually picking me. To caring less about what anyone else thought, friend or foe, and strengthening my own internal compass. And as a result, seeing my self interest benefitting others in that I was bringing a better version of Andy to the table and that was what others needed. I was coming alive for the first time in a long time.
One of my favorite quotes of all time seemed more appropriate now than at any time in the past.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
And while the moment of aliveness has faded a little since I felt it earlier this week, it was enough of a reminder of what it felt like to get me fighting to put myself back there again. To strengthen that internal compass and lock in on a new level of loyalty to my best. To bottle it up claim it as my secret sauce. To bottle it up and use it liberally knowing that I am learning how to make more.